A wide variety of nonionic surfactants are available to detergent formulators for use in detergent compositions of various types. Included among such materials are the ethylene oxide derivatives of fatty alcohols (nonionic surfactants), and many such materials are used in modern laundry detergent compositions. However, there is a continuing search for high performance detersive surfactants and various alternatives to the ethoxylated alcohols have been suggested. Nonetheless, a review of current commercial laundry detergent formulations would indicate that, although many nonionic surfactants have been suggested for detergency use, the ethoxylated alcohols (and in some instances, ethoxylated alkyl phenols) are the only nonionics in common usage.
One class of nonionic detersive surfactants disclosed in the literature comprises the polyhydroxy fatty acid amides. These materials are taught to be mild, high sudsing surfactants. Accordingly, one might have expected that these materials would have found wide usage in detergent formulations; however, that does not appear to be the case. It might be suggested that one reason polyhydroxy fatty acid amides have not come into widespread use is their difficulty of manufacture.
It has now been determined that polyhydroxy fatty acid amide surfactants can be prepared by a rapid, low temperature process which exhibits high conversion rates and which yields products that are low in undesirable color bodies. Moreover, it has now bee determined that polyhydroxy fatty acid amides can be prepared with low by-product formation, with considerable flexibility of reactants and with maximum re-use of reactants with minimal waste and limited re-cycle.